At the center of power — Retired Secret Service agent releases third book

Vicki Bennington, For The Telegraph

Published
10:58 pm CDT, Tuesday, May 10, 2016

In his newest book, “Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford,” Clint Hill, with co-author Lisa McCubbin, gives an account of things that happened during his years in the U.S. Secret Service from 1958 to 1975, when he retired as assistant director. less

In his newest book, “Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford,” Clint Hill, with co-author Lisa McCubbin, gives an account of things that happened during ... more

Photo: Used By Permission | For The Telegraph

Photo: Used By Permission | For The Telegraph

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In his newest book, “Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford,” Clint Hill, with co-author Lisa McCubbin, gives an account of things that happened during his years in the U.S. Secret Service from 1958 to 1975, when he retired as assistant director. less

In his newest book, “Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford,” Clint Hill, with co-author Lisa McCubbin, gives an account of things that happened during ... more

Photo: Used By Permission | For The Telegraph

At the center of power — Retired Secret Service agent releases third book

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Most of us have caught at least a glimpse of Clint Hill, though many may not know that they have.

In numerous photographs and videos (including the famous Zapruder film, which by the way is not the only one) of events that occurred on Nov. 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, Hill was the Secret Service agent who jumped onto the back of the presidential car, pushed Jacqueline Kennedy back into her seat and told the driver to head to the hospital.

Cited for his bravery, Hill said he (and others agents who were there that day) felt a huge sense of guilt and responsibility because they hadn’t been able to save the president’s life, but at least from a layman’s (woman’s) point of view, short of lying on top of the president, there doesn’t appear there was much more they could have done when it was an open motorcade.

But, they all vowed something like that would never happen again.

“As focused as we already were, I think we all became even more focused,” Hill said.

Still, it took a long time — until 2009, in fact, before the burden that had set so hard on Hill’s shoulders began to lift — through writing about the events that happened that day and most recently, about his entire career as an agent in the White House.

“Writing and talking about it was cathartic for me,” Hill said.

In his newest book, “Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford,” Hill, with co-author Lisa McCubbin, gives an account of things that happened during his years in the U.S. Secret Service from 1958 to 1975, when he retired as assistant director.

“Events during all five presidencies were challenging in different ways,” he said. “I talk about the Eisenhower years, traveling overseas, the United States was highly popular and held in high regard — and motorcades were extremely difficult to control.

“Then the popularity dropped after the U.S. U-2 plane incident and cover-up, and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev refused to participate in the cover-up,” Hill said.

Then came the Bay of Pigs and John F. Kennedy at the Vienna Summit with Khrushchev (though during the Kennedy years, Hill was actually assigned to protect Jacqueline Kennedy, which he wrote about in a previous book).

“Kennedy’s popularity recovered after that. Then in 1963, they lost a young son, and a little over two months later, he was killed,” Hill said.

Then there was Lyndon B. Johnson, who traveled a lot, often previously unannounced and in impulsive moments, making it difficult for agents.

“And I remember how hard it always was for him when he would get reports of the casualties in Vietnam,” Hill said. And there was a multitude of anti-Vietnam protests.

But there were light moments with all the presidents, too, like the time that Johnson wanted to shop one Christmas Eve, just after Air Force One had landed.

“President Johnson had been sleeping and was wearing pajamas, but he insisted he wanted to shop, so he put on a trench coat over his pajamas, and we went shopping,” Hill said. “Then came Richard Nixon who took office in 1969, cutting troops in Vietnam and bringing home prisoners of war, but bombing Cambodia, which was very unpopular — especially with college students.”

Next, it was Watergate and all its repercussions. In 1973, Spiro Agnew resigned; in 1974, Nixon resigned, and in came Gerald Ford, a president who had never been elected as president or vice president.

“That had never happened before,” Hill said.

While Hill said there were times that were somewhat less stressful, as an agent, he was constantly “on,” and the adrenaline was always flowing.

“We would go to a city and I’d notice the route, the hotel, the cars, who was where — but none of the landmarks that most people would see,” Hill said. “That’s not what you look at as an agent. There is a lot of responsibility.”

When asked which of the five presidents (who are all gone now) had the best personality, Hill said they were all so different, he wouldn’t presume to say.

Hill was just 26 years old when he began working with the Secret Service. His original career choice was to teach history and coach sports.

But after attending Concordia College in Minnesota, he was drafted into the U.S. Army just after the Korean War, and served for three years, where he was trained in counterintelligence. As so often happens, life and experience chose a new career for him.

“I want this book to provide people with an insight into what the office of the president is like,” Hill said. “Especially with this being an election year, I want everyone to realize that it doesn’t matter what party the president is — I served under two democrats and three republicans. They all face major challenges, and after they are elected, something new always comes up that they have to deal with.”

For many years, Hill was still plagued with guilt over Kennedy’s assassination. He met McCubbin, a journalist, who became his co-author in each of his three books. McCubbin said he suffered from what is now known as post traumatic stress disorder, but had never been treated for it. He didn’t even have time off after the assassination.

Hill went on to write “Mrs. Kennedy and Me: An Intimate Memoir” and “Five Days in November,” which along with McCubbin, helped purge the guilt. Both books are New York Times Bestsellers. “Five Presidents” was released in May.

Hill will discuss his years as a Secret Service agent at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 19, at the Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd. in St. Louis. A question-and-answer session and book signing will follow the talk. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission cost is $35 to $45, which includes one copy of “Five Presidents.” To register, visit www.meetmestlouis.org. “Five Presidents” can also be purchased online and at most book sellers.